5780 – Page 13 – Peninim on the Torah

וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

Rashi explains that it was necessary to send three angels in the image of men because an angel performs only one mission. Thus, one angel came to heal Avraham Avinu; the second came to inform Sarah Imeinu of the impending birth of her son; the third came to destroy Sodom. Raphael, the angel who healed Avraham, went on to Sodom to save Lot form the conflagration that would destroy the city. The question is obvious: If an angel performs only one mission (at a time), and Rapahel had gone on to destroy Sodom to save Lot, would it not have been…

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כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד'

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

The literal translation of yedaativ (reference to knowledge) is, “I know him.” Understandably, when one loves and cares for someone, he seeks to bring him close and know him better. Hashem loved Avraham because he did not keep His teachings to himself. When one believes in something, he wants to shout it from the rooftops, to reach out to whomever he can, so that he can share these verities with him. Interestingly, Avraham Avinu performed many mitzvos for which he achieved singular distinction. In addition, he kept the entire Torah even prior to its being given to Klal Yisrael. Yet,…

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ותאמר לאברהם גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי לא יירש בן האמה הזאת עם בני עם יצחק

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

So she said to Avraham, “Drive out this slavewoman with her son, for the son of that slavewoman shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak!” (21:10)

The Chazon Ish, zl, teaches that distancing a boy from yeshivah, sending him away, is a dinei nefashos, life and death, issue. A yeshivah that sends a student away due to its inability to deal with him is similar to a hospital who refuses to treat a patient whose illness is advanced. A maggid shiur in Yeshivas Porat Yosef approached Horav Yehudah Tzadaka, zl, Rosh Yeshivah, with a request that a certain student be asked to leave the yeshivah. Rav Tzadaka asked the rebbe, “Did you pray for him? Did you fast for him? First pray and fast for him…

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ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה את אברהם

Sruly Schnair In Vayeira, 5780

And it happened after these things that Hashem tested Avraham. (22:1)

Our Patriarch, Avraham Avinu, had been tested ten times by Hashem as a means of confirming his commitment and as a vehicle for proclaiming to the world his abiding devotion to Hashem. Hashem was now asking him to sacrifice his only son, whom he loved with a love that went beyond words. Actually, Avraham had already proven his commitment to Hashem, when he relinquished his life as he was prepared to die in the fiery cauldron of Uhr Kasdim. How often did Avraham have to prove his willingness to sacrifice on behalf of Hashem? Mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice, is a spiritual…

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אלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Shemos

And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who were coming to Egypt. (1:1)

The parsha commences by mentioning the names of the tribal ancestors. Although they had previously been recorded during their lifetime, they are once again repeated after they have passed from the scene because of their dearness to Hashem. They are likened to the stars of the sky, which Hashem brings out and brings in by name. He counts and enumerates them at both opportunities. This indicates that the forefathers, like the stars, are precious to Hashem. Actually, Hashem took a census of Klal Yisrael three times: when they were liberated and left Egypt; after the Golden Calf debacle during which…

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ותיראן המילדות את האלקים ולא עשו כאשר דבר אליהן מלך מצרים ותחין את הילדים

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Shemos

And the midwives feared G-d; they did not do as the King of Egypt told them, and they kept the male offspring alive. (1:17)

To stand up to the most powerful ruler in the world was truly an act of great courage. Shifrah and Puah were two (physically) weak and defenseless women who were brave enough to defy a despotic, ruthless ruler who had enslaved hundreds of thousands of their co-religionists. Vast armies would tremble before Pharaoh. Yet, these two women were not afraid of Pharaoh, because they answered to a higher Authority; they feared Hashem. Their great yiraas Shomayim engendered within them a total abrogation of fear of men. Thus, they felt sufficiently confident and resolute in their yiraas Shomayim to defy Pharaoh….

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כל הבן הילד היארה תשליכהו

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Shemos

Every son that will be born – into the River shall you throw him. (1:22)

At first glance, we view Pharaoh’s evil decree to drown the Jewish male infants as his way of protecting himself and his people from the presaged birth of the Jewish redeemer. How foolish he was to even dream that he could stand up to Hashem. Ironically, it was Pharaoh’s own daughter who rescued Moshe Rabbeinu, and the future Jewish leader and redeemer grew up and was raised in Pharaoh’s palace. This is the accepted reason the commentators give. In his paranoia and narcissism, Pharaoh thought that he could prevent the inevitable. Alternatively, we might suggest another reason for murdering the…

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הלהרגני אתה אומר כאשר הרגת את המצרי

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Shemos

Do you propose to murder me, as you murdered the Egyptian? (2:14)

Moshe Rabbeinu’s conversation with Dassan and Aviram, his two nemeses, appears superfluous. Do we really need to know about their dialogue to the extent that it is recorded in the Torah? While it is true that Chazal derive from the word omer, say/propose, that Moshe killed the Egyptian with his power of speech, by using the Shem ha’Meforash, Ineffable Name, this exposition could have been written in its proper place when he actually intervened and killed him. It seems as if the entire dialogue is unnecessary. Horav Arye Leib Heyman, zl, posits that Dassan and Aviram’s statement was about themselves…

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קחם נא אלי ואברכם

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

Bring them to me, if you please, and I will bless them. (48:9)

Yaakov Avinu wanted to bless Yosef’s sons. We do not find him blessing any of his other grandchildren. Perhaps, since it was his plan to grant Menashe and Ephraim Shevet/Tribe status, it was necessary to meet in order to bless them. Chazal give many explanations for Yaakov’s decision to make Menashe and Ephraim the paradigms of Jewish blessing: “Yesimcha Elokim k’Ephraim v’k’Menashe. Something was special about these two young men and the manner in which they were raised, special enough that Yaakov wanted every Jewish father throughout the millennia to bless his children in a similar manner. Why? The continuity…

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יששכר חמר גרם ... וירא מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה ויט שכמו לסבול

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayechi

Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey… He saw tranquility that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear and he became an indentured servant. (49:14,15)

Rashi interprets the metaphor of a strong-boned donkey and the reference to the land as alluding to Yissachar’s relationship with the Torah. Yaakov Avinu points out Yissachar’s spiritual role as bearer of the yoke of Torah and cultivator of the spiritual treasures of our people. Why does the blessing include “his seeing tranquility and it was good”? The significance of the blessing is Yissachar’s relentless commitment to bearing the yoke of Torah, even if it might be a challenging task at times. His ability to rest while standing up, without having to remove his parcels, demonstrates that regardless of the…

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וישא עיניו וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו

He lifted his eyes and saw: And behold! Three men were standing over him. (18:2)

כי ידעתיו למען אשר יצוה את בניו ואת ביתו אחריו ושמרו דרך ד'

For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him that they keep the way of Hashem. (18:19)

ותאמר לאברהם גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי לא יירש בן האמה הזאת עם בני עם יצחק

So she said to Avraham, “Drive out this slavewoman with her son, for the son of that slavewoman shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak!” (21:10)

ויהי אחר הדברים האלה והאלקים נסה את אברהם

And it happened after these things that Hashem tested Avraham. (22:1)

אלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה

And these are the names of Bnei Yisrael who were coming to Egypt. (1:1)

ותיראן המילדות את האלקים ולא עשו כאשר דבר אליהן מלך מצרים ותחין את הילדים

And the midwives feared G-d; they did not do as the King of Egypt told them, and they kept the male offspring alive. (1:17)

כל הבן הילד היארה תשליכהו

Every son that will be born – into the River shall you throw him. (1:22)

הלהרגני אתה אומר כאשר הרגת את המצרי

Do you propose to murder me, as you murdered the Egyptian? (2:14)

קחם נא אלי ואברכם

Bring them to me, if you please, and I will bless them. (48:9)

יששכר חמר גרם ... וירא מנוחה כי טוב ואת הארץ כי נעמה ויט שכמו לסבול

Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey… He saw tranquility that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, yet he bent his shoulder to bear and he became an indentured servant. (49:14,15)

YEARS

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